Police attempting to ID father of Utah teen’s baby, found dead

SARATOGA SPRINGS, UTAH – A newly unsealed search warrant affidavit may shed a bit more light in the case of a 17-year-old girl who gave birth in her home on March 30, then, according to court documents, put the newborn’s body in a closet drawer. The infant was later found deceased by the girl’s father, who found the baby wrapped up in a shirt and robe, according to police.

This latest search warrant was written in order to collect DNA samples to determine who the infant’s father might be. Saratoga Springs police Sgt. Shane Taylor says he doesn’t believe there will be any additional charges filed, but knowing who the father is will help them tie up any loose ends in this tragic case.

“Trying to identify the baby’s father would be nice, but it’s not that important at this point in relation to the crime that has already been committed…and to what charges have already been filed in this case,” says Taylor.

Officers were initially called to the girl’s house on April 18 where her father had located the infant, “deceased and decayed,” according to a warrant issued in the case.

According to the search warrant affidavit, the teen told police she had been raped at a West Valley City party in August 2017 and became pregnant. Police say she told them she gave birth in the family’s bathtub, and the baby was underwater for “several minutes,” and later found to be dead.

Police say she was able to hide her pregnancy through clothing choices, the Deseret News reported.

In June, the teen was charged with abuse or desecration of a dead body in Juvenile Court. She was placed on probation and ordered to undergo therapy.

Sgt. Taylor says they’re nearing the end of the investigation, pending any information they gather regarding the identity of the father of the deceased infant.

Utah has a newborn Safe Haven Law. Birth parents in Utah may anonymously give up custody of their newborn child at a hospital with no questions, and no legal consequences.